You are to be commended for having traveled this far on the search for God's truth about Universalism. As we travel on, we'll see confirmation by Paul, the Hebrews author, and John, of the obvious truth of Scripture: There are two separate groups of people spoken of by the Spirit, with two separate destinies.

I Corinthians 1:18, 24-26. Note the two classes of people identified by Paul: "Those who are perishing," "us who are being saved." Later he speaks of the "called", otherwise known as the elect.

I Corinthians 3:15-22. See here that it is "you" being addressed, the church at Corinth. It is the church, the called out, that is the Temple of God. God will destroy anyone who defiles that Temple. It is "you" who are Christ's, and Christ Who is God's. This is a very exclusive group.

I Corinthians 5:5-6:11. Judgment. God is a perfect judge and all judgment must be committed to Him. But some of it He passes back to us to do in His name. Notice the clear delineation between the judgment of Christians, and that of unbelievers.

A sinning Christian is to be brought before the Church and publicly reprimanded. And more. He is to be dis-fellowshipped. Cut off from the protection that a Spirit filled church affords, and thus susceptible to the Enemy's ravages.

Even so, when the physical punishment has worked its work in the offender, "his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus." We assume repentance to follow such an ordeal, sorrow for sin that our loving Lord always embraces. And even though the person dies, he shall go on to be with the Lord.

The Universalist here again wants to see "second chance" after death, but it's not there. This is correction followed by remorse followed by reconciliation.

Quite different is the judgment talk of later verses where God tells His people that they will judge the world, even angels! The final outcome of that series of judgments will be that no evil person will be allowed to enter the Kingdom. Period.

I Corinthians 10:1-12. A Hebrews-like warning. God was not well pleased with Israel, and their bodies were eventually scattered all over the wilderness. But that's Old Testament, you say. Paul makes it New Testament teaching. He warns us not to do the things they did, lest we suffer the same fate. We should not desire what they desired, give ourselves to idols, commit sexual immorality, tempt Christ, murmur...

It's hard to comprehend in our modern atmosphere that these warnings were given to "Spirit-filled" believers in a gift-filled church. But that's another subject. The point here is that we must stay connected to Jesus in faith if we expect to see the Promised Land. Are we truly in the faith? If not, we are in that other group.

I Corinthians 11:31-32. Once more the contrast between judgments. There is a difference between a Father's spanking, and a King's wrath.

I Corinthians 15:19-25. I was surprised to learn that Universalists put 15:19 forward as one of their "proofs." It says there that if in this life only we have hope in Christ, we're in bad shape. They try to make the text say that we need the next life to finish what God started, and in that life we will finally be reconciled to God.

That is certainly not the demand of the context, at all.

This is a passage about the resurrection. Christ's, ours. Imagine that Christ never rose from the dead. He did not conquer death. His blood did not atone. God was not in the death of that prophet from Galilee. It was all in the minds of the writers of the histories, but is all just a myth. Imagine.

If that is true, you've been living a lie. You have nothing to live for. Your body will remain in the grave. This life is all there is! Yet in this life, because we have connected to Christ's message in some way, we are hated and abused and killed. This is everything, and everything is miserable! What a bad deal!

How the false teachers twisted that one is beyond me.